Monasteries, Wines, and Other Such Troubles
by KarmellaKitty
Summary: Shawn and Gus get a surprise new receptionist, while Lassie and Jules investigate a case involving a dead monk. When the receptionist turns shady and the case of the dead monk takes a surprising turn, our favorite fake psychic comes to the rescue. SHULES!
1. Chapter 1

Well, here's my new story! I'm not really sure I like this beginning, but it'll get better, I promise. I just need to watch some Psych and get my head back into these characters. Anyway... Here it is. For those of you who read my other story, I guess you could assume that that happened, since Shawn and Jules are dating in this one. And I'm really hoping to write a lot of this one in these next few days so that I'll have a few chapters ready. Well, enjoy. Tell me what you think so far!

Disclaimer: I don't own Psych.

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><p><em>1990<em>

_ "Shawn?" Henry called, opening the door to Shawn's room. It was dark. He could hear faint sounds of sniffling. "Shawn, are you crying?"_

_ "Go away," said a muffled voice from under the heap of blankets._

_ "C'mon, Shawn," Henry exclaimed abruptly, then softened visibly, sitting on the edge of the bed. "Tell me what happened."_

_ A head emerged from one edge of the comforter, and Henry immediately felt bad for being so harsh. Shawn's eyes were red and puffy - something very serious, for as far as Henry knew, Shawn hadn't cried in at least two years. "It's Miranda," he told his dad._

_ Henry understood immediately. Miranda was the girl that Shawn had had a crush on for months - it had gotten to the point of sending her flowers on Valentine's Day and giving her a pet bunny for Easter. "What happened, Shawn?" he prodded gently, genuinely concerned for his son._

_ "I asked her out, like you said I should," Shawn replied tearfully. "And she said no."_

_ Henry smiled lightly. "Well, that's not so bad. You can keep trying. You know, girls love grand, romantic gestures. Give her a nice present, or something. I had to ask your mom out three times before she agreed to go!" Shawn was quiet. "That's not all, is it, Shawn?"_

_ "No," Shawn whispered miserably. "Today, she told everyone that I asked her out and she said that I kissed her and that I was a terrible kisser and that she was a great one and then Bobby Russet kissed her and she said he was an amazing kisser and then everyone laughed at me and... and..." Shawn hiccuped._

_ Henry sighed. Girl troubles, he thought. "Oh, Shawn. It's just one girl. I'm sure there's someone else out there for you."_

_ "But they all laughed at me," Shawn whimpered._

_ "Listen to me, Shawn," Henry argued fiercely. "Everyone who could laugh at you is worthless. You are much better than all of them, and you are going to make an amazing cop someday."_

_ "But why? Why did she do that?" Shawn wondered, wiping his nose._

_ Henry heaved a louder sigh. "Shawn, girls like attention. Remember that when you're old enough to really care."_

"Yeah, so apparently she faked her own death for attention," Juliet concluded, her hand gripped in Shawn's.

"Wow," Shawn responded. "I wish I could have been there for that one."

"Me, too," Jules told him, pausing by the door of the Psych office. "Why is your dad doing this, again?"

"He has this weird notion that I'm going to start thinking like a murderer if I solve anymore cases. Says he saw it happen to a coworker," Shawn explained.

"Well, you have been on a roll," Jules said as she leaned on the door to open it, kissing him softly.

"Whoa," an unfamiliar voice exclaimed from behind them.

Shawn and Jules jumped apart, slamming the door closed and turning to find a strange woman standing next to Gus. Shawn did a double take when he saw the woman, who had bleach-blond waves of hair, sea-green eyes, and long legs that were emphasized by her tall heels and tiny skirt. "Gus," Shawn laughed. "I thought you were going to be... at the thing... by the thing..." He paused and cleared his throat. "Well, is this your new girlfriend? Definitely a step up from the cat lady."

"What cat lady? What are you talking about, Shawn?" Gus protested, while the girl threw her head back and laughed, sliding off the desk with very smooth movements.

"Oh, Shawn, you're _so_ funny," she giggled, sliding her hands onto his chest while Jules looked on in horror. "Mmm," she murmured, before Shawn could finally detach himself and move over by Gus.

"Who is this, Gus?" he asked, disgusted, but realizing that at one time, he would have been going along with this.

"This is the new receptionist that you hired, Shawn," Gus told him, emphasizing each word with facial expressions that clearly said, _Don't put this on me._

Jules glanced at him, and Shawn didn't fail to notice. "What? No, I never hired a receptionist," he protested, opening his hands.

"Yes, you did," the girl smirked. "A few months ago. But they sent me late because hot girls are in such high demand around here. Beach, sun, bikinis..." She shrugged. "Anyway, I'm Alex," she told them, reaching out her hand for Shawn to shake. When Jules went for it, she wrinkled her nose and pulled away. "Oh, no. Sorry, sweetheart, but I can't shake my boyfriend's girlfriend's hand. Right, Shawn?"

Gus was snickering into his hands. "Well, sorry," Shawn said, shooting a glare at his best friend. "You have to, um, go." Alex stared at him blankly. "Look, we don't have enough cases to use your help." Shawn looked pleadingly at Gus, who hid his grin, and Jules, who was looking away in anger, but he could see that she, too, was masking amusement. "You're fired."

"You can't do that," Alex pouted. "It's in my contract. I have to stay at least a week, for a trial."

Jules raised her eyebrows. "A trial?"

"You know... Like, to try out how I work," Alex giggled, as though it were the most obvious thing.

Juliet looked at Shawn. "Um, Shawn? Can we get out of here? The hooker is really creeping me out."

"Yes," Shawn exclaimed. "Pineapple smoothies. C'mon, Jules, I don't understand why you don't drink those things..."

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><p>The door slammed shut and Gus was left alone with Alex, who was making faces at the door. "My God, he is hot," she gushed, throwing herself back onto her chair. "But he likes his girlfriend too much. I'm fine with having a girlfriend, but boys in love are boring. Hey, you're not so bad yourself."<p>

Gus stepped back. "Well, I don't know if I'm really interested. Or... here. Yeah, I think I'm going to go."

"Aw," Alex whimpered, moving forward and wrapping her legs around him, one at a time. Gus stumbled back, into the office part of the psych complex.

"You need to go," Gus told her. "No, I need to go."

"But then I'll never be able to tell you about the murder," Alex informed him, making Gus pause halfway out the door.

"What _murder_?" Gus asked, confused.

"I learned something about a murder. That's why I wanted to come here, Gus," Alex told him, leaning her thin body against the door frame. "I'm scared."

"You don't look scared," Gus pointed out before he could stop himself.

Alex looked affronted. "I'm terrified. But what should I do, cry? I just need someone to hear me out. I'm more than just a slut."

"Did you just admit that you're a slut?"

"Did you just accuse me of being one?" Alex countered.

"What? How does that make any sense?" Gus questioned, before shaking his head. "What do you mean about a murder?"

Alex looked out the window pensively. "Well, I heard something. I was out late, drinking... I'd had a modeling gig earlier and I was out with the girls. So I was kinda drunk, and I wandered into this little store... Wine, I think it was. Wine shop. And I heard these people arguing..."

Gus realized it was unlikely that Alex had really wandered into a wine shop when she was drunk and _remembered_ it, and just as unlikely that she had been alone - that is, without a guy. But as they'd found out with the whole Ryan debacle, there was always a seed of truth in every lie. But what was it? The wine shop? Or that she was drunk?

"I'll talk to Shawn," he replied finally, not knowing what it was that compelled him to believe this girl.

"You'll talk to Shawn," Alex laughed sarcastically, and with a jolt, Gus saw tears painted on her face. "Yeah, he'll totally believe me. He thinks I'm a slut, too."

Gus squinted at her for a moment, then shook his head and walked out.

Well, that had certainly been interesting.

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><p>So, it's kind of meh. But it does get better. I have some great stories lined up, with Lassie and Jules and I have a couple great food ideas and some Lassie pranks. So stay tuned, people! And review to tell me what you think because I really want to know... I haven't written Psych stuff in over a month! SO REVIEW!<p>

Btw, Alex is named after Alex Dupre from One Tree Hill. Because... that's how I imagine her. But different-looking.


	2. Chapter 2

Okay, well, I know I haven't updated two days in a row in ages. But I had all of study hall to write this and I actually really like this! Well, let's see what you guys think. Please review! I got some really great reviews on the last chapter from Dizzy Crue and Red Pen Ninja. Thanks so much, I really enjoyed both of them a lot. Please review more and maybe you can get another chapter tomorrow!

Disclaimer: I don't own Psych.

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><p>"Pineapple mango menagerie!" Shawn announced, placing a light orange-pink smoothie in front of Gus with a dramatic flourish.<p>

"Shawn, do you know what a menagerie is?" Gus asked, taking a cautious sip of the drink and instantly forgetting what he was saying as the flavors danced across his tongue. "Whoa... It's like... like..."

"I know," Shawn agreed fervently. "It's like angels... in droplets of fruity mixture... of perfect monkey-foot flavor... Whoops, did I say that? That was supposed to be the diner's secret ingredient. Luckily, I sweet-talked the waitress into -"

"What? Monkey foot?" Gus queried, jumping up and spitting out his drink. "Shawn, you know that everyone who eats the foot of a monkey is cursed! It says so in the Sacred Book of Emphertines."

"Which you wrote," Shawn pointed out, then laughed. "Relax, Gus. I would never jeopardize your poor face like that. Imagine how sad I would be if something happened to your wonderful, shiny cranium."

Gus sat down with a glare, but refused to touch the fruity heaven again, regardless of taste. The Emphertines had forbidden it. After a few moments of that comfortable silence that can only come between people who understand each other perfectly, he wondered, "Where did Juliet go?"

"She got called in to some case," Shawn told him, his expression sagging a little. "With Lassie. Somewhere in the mountains, I think she said."

"Mountains," Gus responded, trying to sound engaged. He knew that Shawn could tell he was bursting to get out with his news, which he had only just remembered. "Well, Alex said something interesting today."

"To be fair, Gus, we only met her today. How could she possibly have said something yesterday?" Shawn quibbled, a perfectly serious look painted on his face. Then he lit up. "Unless... You already knew her!"

Gus ignored this comment and explained what had happened. "It was incredibly weird," he concluded. "One moment she was flirting, and the next she was sobbing."

"Sounds bonkers," Shawn agreed.

"Bonkers?"

"Don't! Bonkers is a perfectly valid expression, Gus," Shawn informed him.

"Oh, really?" he smirked.

Shawn glowered at him. "Some people fail to appreciate its value." Gus snickered while Shawn continued to glare, before his expression turned thoughtful. "Maybe she has bipooler."

"Bipolar," corrected Gus without thinking.

"Don't be a psychotic giraffe," Shawn responded automatically. "Bipooler isn't a real disease."

"That's what you said, Shawn, I said bipolar - wait. That might actually make sense," Gus realized, absentmindedly taking another sip of his drink.

"Really?" Shawn appeared surprised. "I don't know, Gus. Psychotic giraffe isn't the best fit for the situation."

Gus, however, either didn't hear or chose to ignore this, as well, for his mind was far away. "Bipolar patients have a maniac extreme and a depressive extreme. When in maniacal moods, the tend to be inappropriate and eager to argue. When depressive - well, they're depressed. This might work, Shawn."

"That doesn't explain the murder," Shawn pointed out. "It doesn't really help us at all, actually."

"You're the psychic, Shawn. Figure it out," Gus smirked.

Shawn made a face. "Okay. Let's go." He stood up and placed a tip on the table, waving at the waitress.

"Go where?" Gus asked, following him out of the little diner.

"The office," Shawn told him casually.

"What? Are you crazy? _She's_ there!" Gus exclaimed.

"Exactly."

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><p>Alex looked up as Shawn and Gus entered the Psych office but didn't get up, as she was engaged in a fierce, hushed conversation on her phone. Shawn and Gus exchanged a meaningful glance and headed nonchalantly into the office area. Then began a ferocious battle in which Gus motioned for Shawn to hit the jackal switch, Shawn silently refused, Gus slapped Shawn's arm, and Shawn rolled his eyes and finally consented, after a small cat-fight.<p>

The pair cautiously peeked over the window ledge to listen to what Alex was saying. For a moment, there was silence, and then she argued, "But I don't understand why you're making me do this. Now they just think I'm a slut! What do you want me to find out, anyway?"

There was silence before Alex said in a calmer voice, "So you thought I could seduce them to find out about this monastery case? But... what does that have to do with you, babe?"

_Babe?_ Shawn thought. So it was a person dirty enough to have to do with Alex that wanted something to do with a monk? Well, this was getting interesting.

Another pause and Alex whispered, "'Kay. I'll try. Call you later. I love you, babe. 'Bye."

When Alex turned around, she saw Shawn and Gus calmly trying to get nuts of some sort into pencil cups around the room. Gus smiled at Alex, whose butterflies subsided instantly. She hadn't been caught!

_If only she knew._

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><p>"Shawn!" Henry called out as Shawn and Gus entered the station. "I need to talk to you."<p>

"Hi, Dad. No, you should not wear the pink cowboy boots on a date; no, you should not talk about anything _remotely_ related to guts and blood, including fishing; no, you should not have worn that blouse today, not to work and not to anything," Shawn expounded, then neatly side-stepped Henry on his way to Juliet's computer, where he was planning to look up Alex.

"Shawn," Henry began, and something in his voice made Shawn turn around and stare.

"What is -" Shawn stopped. "Hi, Mom."

"Hello, Shawn," said Madeleine, stepping out from around the reception desk. "Hi, Gus."

"What brings you to town, Mrs. Spencer?" Gus asked, shaking her hand, stepping forward when Shawn was rooted to the spot.

"Well, it's been a while, and Henry just told me about Shawn's girlfriend, so I thought that it was about time to visit," she explained, smiling at Shawn, who only flapped his mouth wordlessly.

He looked at Henry, who was standing there uncomfortably. "I've been dating her for five months, Mom."

"Oh," Madeleine responded, a very surprised expression on her face. "Well, Henry led me to believe -"

"I, well, I may have exaggerated a bit," Shawn's dad hastily interjected, trying to shape a reason but seemed unable to.

"In other words, you forgot?" Madeleine questioned, appearing concerned.

"Mom, it's okay," Shawn said, waving his hand dismissively.

They all stood awkwardly for a moment until Shawn cleared his throat and added, "Gus, I think we should go. Curly fries are beckoning."

Gus agreed and they began to walk out, Shawn dropping a note to look up Alex in Jules' locker, adorned with small pink roses. "Wait, Shawn! You just got here," Henry called.

"I'll talk to you later, Mom!" Shawn shouted in reply to his mother, who smiled half-heartedly and waved.

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><p>Juliet smoothed her hair back with one hand as the wind whipped at her face. "Carlton!" she called, almost unable to hear her partner from the other side of the car.<p>

"Come on, O'Hara, this wind is destroying my hair," Carlton shouted, obviously not having heard her. Jules sprinted towards the large wooden doors, knocking loudly and hoping that someone inside would open them for her and Lassiter.

"Open up! Open up!" they shouted in unison. Jules kept glancing up at the windows, seeing flashes of figures dressed in black staring down at them, but nobody opened the doors. Jules took a step back and stared up and the massive, gated monastery, a supposedly holy place that somehow inspired nothing but fear in her heart.

_I wish Shawn were here._

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><p>Well, I added that last part so that you know that some Jules and Lassie stuff it coming up. So get excited! And review! Please, please tell me what you think!<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

Okay, I know it's been forever! And I'm so sorry! You guys have given me such amazing reviews, even those that I didn't get a chance to reply to! But I had this math test and my math program has six tests a year and they're all really important, so you'll find that when I have a math test... I don't update. But now you'll probably be getting at least a chapter a week. Until the next test, anyway. =)

Disclaimer: Don't own Psych.

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><p>After a chilling half hour, the monks finally let Juliet and Carlton enter the monastery. "I apologize for the wait," the monk who let them in said smoothly.<p>

"I'm sure you're very sorry," Carlton muttered angrily, smoothing down hair that more suited someone who stuck their fingers in electric sockets on a regular basis.

"It's been a busy week," the monk told them calmly, a complacent expression on his face. Juliet rolled her eyes. She hated people who acted so much better than they really were.

Carlton ground his teeth, a murderous look on his face. "Can you get us to the leader of this..." he paused, as though trying to think of a less offensive word, which Jules knew he was, "establishment?"

"That would be me," an unfamiliar voice, with a hint of accent, half-whispered from behind her, making her jump. Juliet whirled around to see a monk that wasn't hooded, his red hair and green eyes examining her as though she were the scripture.

She shifted uncomfortably, as her partner cleared his throat, diverting the attention from her by saying, "And you might be...?"

"I am the abbot," the monk declared, a smug smile playing on his lips. "Who are you?"

"Wait a minute, the abbot? What century is this?" Carlton interrupted, ignoring the abbot's question.

Juliet hid a smile under her hand and shushed her partner with a stern, "Carlton! Be polite!"

"I'm sorry, O'Hara, but you have to admit -" Carlton cut off as the monk began moving around the room with its great stone archways and mosaic-covered walls.

"I am the highest of our order here," the monk told them smoothly. He fingered the special embroidery on his hood. "As abbot and a Great Schema, I have the power to evict you from our premises. If you wish to remain, state your purpose."

Juliet stepped forward. "I'm Detective Juliet Sp - I mean, O'Hara," she corrected in alarm, trying to ignore Carlton's look. Lately she'd been introducing herself as Juliet Spencer, just to get a feel for it, ever since Shawn had jokingly suggested a proposal (well, a proposal involving two chimpanzees and a giraffe, but still). Even though she knew that Shawn was _not_ the kind of guy that would actually marry her, she'd been dreaming about it lately. Suddenly, she shook herself from her thoughts, and continued, "Um, and this is my partner, Head Detective Carlton Lassiter. We're here to ask you a few questions, Mr... I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name."

The abbot's green eyes seemed to rake her mind. "That's because I didn't give it," he responded finally, then clasped his hand, standing silent as though he expected them to speak.

"Um, can we go somewhere more private?" Jules asked, looking around at the monks that were slowly gathering around the hall.

"O'Hara," Carlton whispered, before the abbot could reply. "Can't we bring him in?"

"For what, Carlton? Being rude?" she retorted.

"Well... he didn't tell us his name. Isn't that probable cause? We could search the -"

"-ancient Monastery with hundreds of rooms and millions of hidey-holes? Yeah, that'll work," Jules countered, her eyes flashing a little. "Carlton, just back me up on this. That's what partners do, remember?"

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><p><em>Three Months Earlier...<em>

Shawn leaned in and kissed her. "I brought you a present," he said, finally back from his trip to Colorado, something that Gus had insisted on for "Guys' Time."

"Oh, Shawn, you didn't have to..." Jules laughed, although of course she'd been expecting Shawn to give her something sweet and quirky and...

"Beautiful," she gasped, staring at the earrings in his hand, two elegant silver swirls with pale pink pearls sprinkled throughout. "Wow, Shawn, I never thought -" She stopped, unsure of how to continue. She ran through Shawn's previous gifts - a large box of candied pineapple, a surprisingly good drawing of her, a hand-beaded bracelet, a rhinestoned key that actually fit the door to his apartment (well, his apartment a month ago) - but this jump seemed exponential. "What's this for?"

"I love you, Juliet O'Hara," Shawn told her. "And I want you to know that I'll always be here. Forever." He kissed her again, filling her heart with joy. _Forever._ It was such a beautiful word. When he said that, she felt like those pearls were expanding to fit them inside their own personal haven of love.

Just then, the door to the interrogation room slammed open. Jules and Shawn jumped apart and she saw Shawn's eyes widen visibly with surprise. The footsteps stopped short and she closed her eyes, knowing who it was before turning around. "Carlton, I -" Juliet stopped, staring at the empty threshold. "Oh, no."

"Jules -" Shawn began, but she held up her hand and turned back to him.

"I need to deal with this alone, Shawn," she told him.

After a good half hour of searching, Juliet finally located her partner in Chief Vick's office. "Carlton, can I, um, talk to you?" she half-whispered, trying not to interrupt the conversation.

"Actually, Detective, you can stay here," the Chief commanded, glancing at the empty seat.

Jules sat down, surprised. "I'm sorry, Chief, but I didn't know we were getting another case so soon," she prompted.

"I want to discuss why Detective Lassiter is asking for a reassignment," Chief Vick explained.

"Reassigned? What?" Juliet exclaimed, shocked. "Carlton, I'm sorry we didn't tell you. It's just... we - I - knew you'd be like this."

"Partners don't lie, O'Hara," Carlton told her, still looking straight ahead, something that was incredibly painful for her to watch. Her heart was plummeting. Of course she loved Shawn, and she was never going to be willing to give that up, but Carlton was her partner. Despite his hard exterior and stern matter, he was her best friend. What would she do without him?

"I'm sorry, Detectives, but I think I'm missing something here," Chief Vick interrupted. "What are we talking about?"

"I'm seeing Shawn and Carlton just found out and he can't deal with it," Jules explained, turning huffily to face the Chief.

Chief Vick shook her head in exasperation and stood up. "I think I'm just going to let you two sort this thing out. Try not to break anything expensive."

"Carlton, what do you want me to say? I'm not going to apologize for being with Shawn. He's my boyfriend and he loves me and I love him," Juliet told him boldly. "I know I should've told you, but honestly, I'm pretty sure you would've reacted the same way."

"Partners tell each other the truth, O'Hara," Carlton replied. "Partners back each other up. Partners _trust_ each other."

Juliet frowned, her forehead wrinkling as her partner got up and exited the office. This was going to be a long road back.

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><p><em>Present Day<em>

Lassiter cleared his throat. "Yes, um, Abbot," he stammered. "We need to go somewhere private. And we need to talk to some other monks."

The abbot glowered at him, as though he were the cause of all his problems, then motioned towards a tiled archway at the end of the hall, exchanging glances with several of the other monks as he headed towards it, all of whom followed obediently in a shuffling line. Carlton and Juliet stepped forward cautiously, attempting (and not succeeding) to ignore the odd looks from the other monks. What followed was a long walk through winding, dark hallways and up a spiraling staircase whose only light was a single torch at the top. Jules though she felt a door on the side, but decided it was nothing.

Once they finally reached a small office, the abbot sat down at the desk and pulled out just four chairs, for the other monks. Jules and Lassiter were left standing awkwardly. "So, who is the monk that was killed?" Juliet asked, for their information was very limited. Whoever had called them had only said that there had been a murder at the monastery, and hadn't even left their name.

"Oh, John Smith," the abbot informed them. "Yes, he was a Rassaphore. I enjoyed him very much."

"John Smith? I'm sorry, but that doesn't sound very Greek," Juliet pointed out, noting this on her legal pad.

"No, he was a member from Santa Barbara. He joined out of love for the religion. Although, for someone who claimed to love religion, he was never very involved. Very mysterious fellow." At this, Carlton snorted, and Jules knew he was doubtful that anyone could be more mysterious than this bunch.

"How did he die?" Juliet asked.

"Poisoned," the abbot responded offhandedly.

The two partners exchanged a glance. "Do you think we could have the body to confirm that? It's not exactly evidence..." she faltered, unsure of how to put it.

"Of course, of course. We're storing it in the ice room for now," the abbot offered. "It's a little cut up. Our cook thought it was meat, for eating. He's blind."

Jules raised her eyebrows and nodded sarcastically. The abbot didn't notice. "Well, what was he poisoned with?" Carlton queried, obviously deciding to pass over the moment.

"Our white wine. Comes from a little place in the city, Vino de Italia," another monk responded, with something of a British accent, oddly enough. "I can give you the address if you so desire."

Juliet and Lassiter exchanged another glance, this one half-relieved and half-exasperated. Who knew that it could possibly take this long to get a tiny morsel of information?

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><p>I actually kind of like the LassieJules interaction. Review if you did too! Or if you think there's something I should change! Hopefully you'll get another chapter soon.


	4. Author's Note

Hey, troops! I know what you're all thinking: I'm a horrible person for not updating in so long. And I truly, truly am sorry - I don't know where life has gone. It feels like it was just last week that I updated, but I logged in, and it's been almost 30 days! I just feel horrible about this, so I'm really going to try and step it up, although I don't really know when I'll get a chance to update again. And I can't honestly give you a good excuse for my absence - although I do have a good excuse for not updating this week. I have this giant test, and I really need to focus on that, because quite honestly, I don't understand what my math teacher is talking about half the time (which is pretty much a first - I'm generally good at math). ANYWAY, I'll try and update next weekend, and if not, well, I know what I'm doing over Thanksgiving. I thought I was going to be able to write over End of Quarter... but I guess I was too busy. Thanksgiving is better - 5 days, and it's more of a family thing, so I won't be as busy with my friends. I know you're all really disappointed that this isn't a chapter - I know I hate when authors of my stories pop in just to write a really long Author's Note... but it's better than leaving you all in the dark, right? So thanks for all the reviews and alerts I've been getting these past few weeks, and I promise I'll write more. I've just been busy lately - and I know that's not an excuse, but I hope it's something you can understand. I swear on my life I'll get a chapter to you within two weeks! And you can quote me on that. =) Thanks so much for (hopefully) understanding and being such great readers! PM me if you have anything to say, please. I'd welcome it! (Unless it's something really angry that makes me feel worse. Although I probably deserve it.) KarmellaKitty P.S.: This is saving really weird, so it looks like one giant paragraph... sorry about that! 


	5. Chapter 4

Okay, I kept my promise! Here's chapter 4! I kind of enjoyed writing this one... but it may not be very good. It's not the most exciting chapter... and by the end it sounds strange, but I can't figure out why. Review and tell me what's off about it! I can't seem to get a hold of the trail... which is silly, since I watched Psych quite recently! And I forgot to mention the new season of Psych on my last post, so here you go: I actually really liked it! Especially the Hangover episode, that was hilarious. I assume that people who read/write stories in this fandom also watch Psych... at least on Hulu. Speaking of which, Hulu is incredibly stupid because it's making me wait 30 days for the all the other Psych episodes, since my parents will never get more TV channels EVEN if I pay, since they think Psych is stupid (they think the characters are all idiots... it's called over-exaggeration for the sake of comedy, people)... Anyway, sorry for the rant. Here's Chapter 4!

Disclaimer: Don't own Psych.

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><p>"Shawn, what are you doing?" Gus asked as he entered the Psych office after a day of pharmaceutical sales to find his best friend sitting on the floor between the two desks, with a bed sheet suspended above and behind him.<p>

Shawn peered out of the tent-entrance-like gap he had made in front. "Hiding," he whispered.

Gus looked around in confusion. "Is Alex back?" he wondered, as he hadn't seen her upon entering. Glancing into the reception area, he saw absolutely nothing. "Shawn, who are you hiding from?"

"My dad," Shawn responded in a quiet voice, then waited, as though he expected the aforementioned person to barge in at any second. "He's going to make me come on his and my mom's date tonight."

"Wait a second - date?" Gus queried, thinking that there was no way he could've heard that right.

"Well, he didn't say date," Shawn supplied. "He said, 'We're going to be going to a fancy restaurant, so dress appropriately,' and I asked if it's one of his creepy fish restaurants, which is what I expected, and then I would just wear this," he indicated his jeans and button-down shirt, "but he said, 'No, we're going to the Casa de Vera.' I mean, children aren't allowed there."

"That's because of the alcohol, Shawn," Gus pointed out, unable to stop himself, although he did understand. Casa de Vera was the most notorious, most romantic restaurant in Santa Barbara.

"Don't be an overweight purple elephant, Gus," Shawn retorted. "That's not the point. Can you imagine going to the Casa de Vera with your _parents_?"

Gus paused for a moment, unsure of what to say. "Well, I know what will get you out of this," he offered, just to see if Shawn had any chance of listening.

"The ice cream guy?" Shawn listened for a moment, then cautiously peeked out of his tent to check the time. "No, Gus, we have ten more minutes. Wait! I can't go out..." he stopped, considering something. "Just get me the flavor of the day."

"Well, I was going to say work," Gus interrupted.

"Work?" Shawn looked taken aback. "Work? Gus, don't be a -"

"Shawn, just listen. We need to figure out where Alex was from. We know she was up to something, and Juliet still hasn't returned from wherever she and Lassiter have been for the past two days. So, let's go the temp agency. That's where you got her, right? So we can go see what we can learn," Gus explained. "Maybe if we get something really important, your dad will understand."

"My dad won't understand anything," Shawn responded dully. "It's not even an official case, Gus."

"It will be if we find something important," he told his best friend persuasively.

Finally, Shawn shrugged. "But ice cream first!"

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><p>After a refreshing treat of the flavor of the day - pineapple caramel insanity - Shawn and Gus entered the temp agency confident in their ability to uncover something big. "Hello, Auntie... Kathy," Shawn began, clearing his throat, to the elderly lady at the front desk. "My, you look lovely today."<p>

"Do - do I know you?" the woman asked, peering through her thick glasses.

"Yeah, it's me, Shawn! Don't you remember?" he questioned gently.

"R-remember? Hm..." she sputtered, looking down as though trying to locate something hidden in the depths of her memory.

"It's okay, Auntie Kathy. I'm actually here for business today," Shawn interrupted her musings. "Can you pull up the files on..." He faltered, then directed the woman's attention to her computer, for she had still been lost in thought. "Alex... What was her last name, Gus? Oh, yeah. Alex Miller."

"Alex... Miller," the front desk woman - Katherine - muttered as she typed. "No results. I'm sorry, boys. I think you've c-come to the wrong place."

Shawn and Gus exchanged a look. "Do you think you could pull up pictures of all of your receptionists, Auntie?" Gus asked, edging around the desk to see. The woman scrolled through two pages before...

"Aha! There!" Shawn announced triumphantly. "What's her name?"

"Ka - Kara Wilson," the old lady read, appearing puzzled. "Is that your Alex Miller?"

"Apparently," Shawn replied, a serious expression on his face. This confirmed everything - but why would someone lie about their name, and be so careless about protecting the secret?

"Could you give us an address, Auntie?" Gus asked.

Katherine seemed to notice Gus for the first time. "Who are y-you?" she asked, peering at him through her glasses.

"Bur -" Gus was cut off by a sharp elbow to the side by Shawn. He glared at his best friend for a moment before adopting a more gentle voice, obviously against his will, and saying, "I'm Gus. Shawn's brother. You remember me, Auntie Kathy."

"Oh, my, Gregory, you are sunburnt," the woman exclaimed, a little disjointedly, while Gus frowned indignantly. Before he could respond, however, Shawn cleared his throat.

"Oh, yes, he is, Auntie," Shawn agreed, laughing. "He's our sunburnt little Greggie-poo. But do you think you can help us out? We're a little short on time."

"Alright," she agreed, and relayed the address written under "Kara Wilson." Gus was still muttering as they walked out of the glass doors.

"Oh, Greggie-poo," Shawn quipped. "Stop your blubbering."

"Shawn, if you ever call me Greggie-poo in public, I will take away your pretzel privileges!"

"Greggie-poo, you would never do that!"

"I promise, you will get the same results as you calling Lassiter, 'Lassie-poo,'" Gus insisted, opening the door of the Blueberry and slipping in.

Shawn stood outside for a moment, his hand on the door handle. "Gus! What a brilliant idea!" he exclaimed, a grin of excitement painted on his face.

Kara Wilson's house was certainly not something you'd expect to find in the possession of a receptionist. With white-washed stucco, a porch with several classic red-bricked arches, and a large pool, spa, and garden in the back, it looked more like the house of a rich, successful couple than a lone twenty-year-old girl. _It__looks__like__it__came__straight__out__of__a__magazine,_ Shawn thought, glancing around at the palm trees and the little path through a wooded area that presumably led to a private stretch of beach, as indicated in the realtor's catalog.

"Why would someone want to sell a house this nice?" Gus wondered.

"Maybe... it's served its purpose," Shawn suggested in an ominous tone, spreading his hands out and wiggling his fingers as though presenting the next great idea of their times.

Gus shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Come on, Shawn," he told his friend, confidently putting on his sunglasses and striding through the front gate. A few moments later, he came running back out, a hand clamped firmly over his mouth. Shawn almost wanted to laugh, as his friend looked incredibly ridiculous, raising his knees far too high as he ran. But when Gus had that face on - it meant that someone was dead.

Shawn strode forward slowly, glancing around for possible clues as he walked into the gated house. He slowly circled around the house towards the pool enclosure, but didn't see anything out of the ordinary - the hedges were perfectly trimmed, the bushes weren't disturbed. To him, it looked like a perfect paradise; that is, it looked like a perfect paradise until he reached the pool.

Shawn paused in horror as he looked out at the scene, for there was Alex, laying on a pool chair with a horrific expression on her face and skin that looked like someone had left her in the pool for a while, and then taken her out and lain her back out on the pool chair, her hair done up as though it were perfectly normal. He shivered, as although he didn't like to get disturbed by bodies, this was most definitely disturbing. He walked forward, trying not to touch anything.

His eyes focused on a bottle of wine on the small glass table beside the body. That was strange. He would've expected a girl like Alex to drink beer by her pool - but then he noticed the two glasses. Two? Who had been drinking with Alex when she died? And why was the other glass full?

Shawn edged towards the body, unable to avert his eyes. It was strange how the girl looked like she had been placed in the pool, but for some reason, Shawn didn't think she had drowned. For one, why would she look so shocked, like she had just choked or something? His eyes moved back to the full wine glass. Perhaps she had been poisoned...

Standing up, Shawn noticed that the back door of the house was slightly ajar. He slipped inside, only to see Gus had already found something, which he was staring at with a strange expression. "Look at this, Shawn," he said, without looking up.

Shawn's eyes widened when he saw the paper, and the number of 0's printed on to it. "Well, that explains the house, at least..." he muttered, shaking his head at the amount of money. "I don't understand, Gus. What does this receptionist of ours have to do with anything? And why on earth would someone kill her, when they were just using her to spy on us?"

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><p>Alrighty... review and tell me what you think! Remember that your reviews made this chapter possible, and I might even have another one up my sleeve this weekend... if I get enough motivation!<p> 


	6. Chapter 5

Hello, everyone! I hope you're having a wonderful Christmas Eve/Hanukah/other holiday! I'm about to go off to eat my wonderful Christmas Eve dinner but I thought I'd finish up this chapter first. Oh, and by the way, my mom's getting an iPad for Christmas, so I'll be able to use the computer a lot more (hopefully)! So with some luck, I'll be able to write some more chapters over break. Here's chapter 5! And if you haven't seen it already, please check out my Christmas one-shot, Juliet's Christmas Special.

Disclaimer: Don't own Psych.

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><p>"Hurry up, O'Hara," Carlton snarled as Juliet ran to catch up with him as he rushed into the station.<p>

"Carlton, don't you think you're overreacting a little bit? I mean, it's just Shawn..." Jules protested, defending her boyfriend.

"Spencer's crossed the line this time, O'Hara," Carlton snapped at her, as they turned into Chief Vick's office. Without missing a beat, he continued, "Chief, you need to get rid of Spencer."

"Detective! I know you are upset about the Giraffe Incident, but we need you to focus on the case. Spencer has been reprimanded already, and he's been punished," the Chief said. Juliet rolled her eyes and tried to drag her partner away.

"Stop it, O'Hara. Chief, I demand that Spencer is taken off of his case," Carlton insisted, not ready to let go of his mission.

"Detective Lassiter, why don't you focus on _your_ case?" Chief Vick asked him, trying a different tack. "As I recall, you still haven't been down to the wine shop to inquire on the murder of that monk?" She fixed them under her stern gaze.

"Of course, Chief, we'll go down there immediately," Juliet obliged, finally grabbing Lassiter's arm and pulling him out of Vick's office.

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><p>"Hello," Jules said quite pleasantly, attempting to be nice to the bored-looking girl at the counter. She appeared to be about twenty, with jet black hair, piercing blue eyes, and a black lip ring. The store itself was rather plain - a small counter in front with only one cash register, a machine that looked rather like it was about to fall apart. The walls of the tiny shop were lined with towering shelves filled with dusty bottles of wine.<p>

"Listen up, Miss Goth Girl," Carlton interrupted harshly.

"Carlton!" Jules exclaimed while the girl stood up with an offended look.

"Excuse me? Who the hell do you think you are?" she asked, raising her pierced eyebrows.

"Detective Carlton Lassiter, SBPD. This is my partner, Juliet O'Hara. We've got a couple questions for you, Miss...?" Carlton finished questioningly, in a rather more polite tone.

"Kara Wilson, thank you very much. And what's this place got to do with anything? We ain't got no shady business going down here. Whoa, whatcha doing there, _Detective?_" Kara's sarcasm was not to be missed as she spoke to Lassiter, who had bent down and started crawling on the floor. "Is he _normally_ like this?"

"No. Not really," Jules responded, watching her partner with a disturbed expression. "Carlton, what are you doing?"

"What?" Carlton said, then seemed to realize what he was doing. "Oh... No... I just though... never mind."

Juliet gave him her _what-the-hell_ look and turned back to Kara. "Anyway... We're looking into a murder that seems to involve poisoned wine... wine that came from your shop."

"So? There are plenty of crazies that can come in and buy our wine. All you need is an ID," Kara told them, tone still bored.

"What do you know about deliveries being made to a certain monastery in the mountains?" Carlton asked. Juliet nodded in support.

Kara snorted. "I'm pretty sure there's only one monastery in the whole of California," she remarked. At angry glances from the two detectives, she continued, "Okay, okay, I'll get serious. So we make deliveries to that place about once a month. Really, it's crap wine, but they take the only thing they can afford to slap their name on."

"Okay, how does that help us?" Jules questioned.

Kara shrugged. "You're the ones who asked. I'm just telling you what I know."

Carlton tutted impatiently. "What day do the deliveries go out?"

"Um... it must have been about four weeks ago. We had some complaints a week or two ago that they'd run out, but unless they cough up the money, they ain't getting no more," Kara informed them.

"A week or two ago? But then the wine would've run out before the poisoning," Jules realized. "Was there anyone that came in the last few days to buy that particular wine?"

"Um, yeah," Kara answered. "I was surprised... very few people come in and buy that crap usually. But there were four people within the past week."

Jules riffled through her bag for a notepad. "Can we get some names, please?"

"Sure," Kara agreed, moving for the first time since they'd arrived. From a bag that had been hidden underneath the counter, she extracted a laptop - by far the fanciest thing in the store - and made a few clicks. "Okay... let's see... just a second... and, aha! There we go. So there was Ashlee Thompson. She was very nice, even asked for my name. Then there was Trevor McConner. Oh, he creeped me out... it looked like he was _following_ Ashlee. Creepy, I know. Then there was Mia Bianchi."

"Do you, by any chance, remember what any of these people looked like?" Lassiter asked, as though he very much doubted that Kara could remember her own name.

Kara gave him a glare and responded, "Yeah, of course. Ashlee Thompson... she was blonde and kind of ditzy looking. Trevor McConner - your typical creeper - tattoos, black greasy hair, bad, bad type. Mia Bianchi, some italian girl. Brown hair and oh, these really pretty hazel eyes. I noticed that 'cause they looked really pretty."

Jules gave her a little bit of a weirded out look. "Well. Carlton, we should go visit all of these people?"

"Wait, wait, didn't you say four people?" Carlton interjected, ignoring his partner.

Kara started. "Oh, yeah, I almost forgot. Yeah, there was a monk. A hooded one, paid in cash, no idea who he was."

"Really?" Juliet asked, intrigued. "Can you tell us anything about him?"

Kara shrugged and shook her head. "No idea, Detectives. Sorry. I've told you everything I know about this wine." Carlton snorted in disbelief. "What? I'm a cashier at a wine shop in the warehouse district of Santa Barbara."

Shaking his head, Carlton said, "Let's go, O'Hara. No more we can learn from this cashier."

"Wait a minute," Jules stopped, thinking about what they'd learned. "How does the wine get to the monastery?"

"By truck, directly to the stores in the monastery? Why?" Kara queried, confused.

"Is there any way someone could've stolen the wine? Taken it to the monastery without buying it here, but without breaking into the monastery's store, either?" Lassiter asked, connecting with her. Jules smiled a little. During this interrogation, she really felt like she and Lassiter were partners again, as close as they had been before the Shawn Incident.

"Um," Kara began, sounding unsure. "Well, I guess I could ask our truck driver, Hans." At a nod from Juliet, she went towards the back of the store and opened a small door, hidden behind the shelves of wine. The two detectives watched nervously as one of the rickety shelves teetered so far to the left that they were sure it was going to fall, until they saw it stabilize uneasily. Jules smiled to herself again, remembering the time that Shawn had learned that his favorite ride at the local amusement park was being reopened, and she'd bought him tickets to go the very day it would be open for the first time in twenty-five years. Consequently, he had almost knocked Juliet's bookshelf over.

"What are you smiling about, O'Hara?" Carlton inquired, looking annoyed at some spot on his suit.

"Oh, when I saw that shelf, I thought of Shawn and how -" she stopped at the look on her partner's face. What had she been thinking? _Why_ had she reminded Carlton about the everlasting wedge between them? "Never mind," she amended hastily.

Kara walked in with a burly man in overalls, stopping at the awkward silence between the two partners. "Um, what's going on?"

"Nothing, nothing," Jules told her airily. "What does, um, I'm sorry, I don't know your name...?"

"Tom," the driver said gruffly.

Kara stepped in. "Tom says no wine has been taken from the truck or the stores."

"So, it's gotta be one of the people who came in to buy it?" Carlton queried. "Thanks. This hasn't been a complete waste of time, at least. Let's go."

There was a lot more anger in that "let's go" than the previous one.

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><p>So what'd you think? Do you guys like Juliet's POV? I kind of do. Not quite as interesting as Shawn's, but, still. Oh, and don't worry - there's some more Shules interaction coming up! Please review and tell me what you think!<p> 


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